Troy and Trojan war

Paper II due 14 May This is not a research paper. Should be at least 1200 words long.

We can think of the Humanities as an unending dialogue about major issues, such as ‘what is justice?” In this paper I want you to use passages connected to epic to consider what justice is and what it principles it is based upon, using ideas found in these passages, explaining how these passages fit with your ideal of justice. This is NOT a research paper. As with the first paper, you will answer questions and paste your paper into a field in an exercise in CANVAS.

In the first paragraph of your paper describe your idea of justice. For example, you might write “I believe mathematics, and the musical scale that can be derived from mathematics, as Pythagoras proved, provides insight into the fundamental order of the universe. A key principle of music is harmony, where all the notes and the instruments work together to produce a piece of music. Thus for me justice is harmony, where each person fulfills their natural role in society and does what they need to do to make society as a whole function. It is not about the individual, any more than, in a symphony, it is about any one instrument.”

After explaining the idea of justice, each student has to discuss at least seven passages from this handout. You must discuss each of the five mandatory passages, revealing what perspective each passage presents about justice, and to what extent you agree with that perspective. All students must also discuss one variable passage that is assigned, and one that you chose. Again, all students must comment on the five mandatory passages If you last name begins with A-C, you must also discuss Variable passage 6. If you last name begins with D – M, you must consider variable passage 7; If you last name goes N-Z, you must consider variable passage 8. In addition you must consider at least ONE of the other variable passages

Then you must provide a concluding paragraph explaining how useful epic is in respect to figuring out a definition of justice..

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Some points to consider about the passages below which you will use for your essay.

MP (Mandatory Passage ) 1. How serious do you think Gorgias’ defense of Helen is? Do you think that love can overcome a person? Can persuasion work like a drug? Can a person be compelled by Destiny or Necessity? And these items can compel, what is justice here?

MP 2 What do you think of Hesiod’s idea of justice (Dike) as essential to prosperity in an individual or a city? What about the idea that Zeus will punish a whole city for the injustice of one person? What do you think of his idea of immortal spirits who watch for injustice? Why is it so important for political leaders to do justice?

MP3 Why is it important that the Hebrew God will save a city if he can find ten good people in it, while Zeus will destroy a city simply for one bad person? What does it signify that God is willing sort of to bargain with Abraham? What does this say about the Justice of the Greek gods versus the Hebrew God?

MP4 What is the significance that, in Vergil’s explanation, human souls are part of the original, immortal fire that creates the universe, which is recycled into new bodies? Note that these souls are often stained by sin in their mortal lives which must be punished after death, after which they are reincarnated into new souls? How does that threat of punishment and reward offer a type of justice? Notice everybody gets a second chance. And what does it mean for free will that the history of Rome seems to be written before it even happens? Can we have justice without free will?

MP5 How does Arjuna address the problem of how there can be justice in any war? Note how there is a heroic code here, as in Homer. Krisha tells Arjuna not to allow himself to be shamed by not fighting. Why is there an even greater stress on reincarnation here? Krishna says that a warrior should look forward to the opportunity to do ‘righteousness’ but this is a misleading translation because it points to a perspective Westerners tend not to have. For Indian religion, there is an emphasis on what sometimes is denoted dharma, that is, action that corresponds to your proper role in life. Righteousness is doing your dharma. If you are a warrior, to be righteous is to fight for your people. It is not for the warrior to decide whether the fight is just or not. That is not his role. This connects with one of the most important passages in the Gita, “You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction. Be steadfast in the performance of your duty, O Arjuna, abandoning attachment to success and failure.” In other words, do the job in the way your role assigns to you, and don’t worry about the result, which is generated by the eternal, divine system, not you. It is all about doing your duty; whether you succeed or fail is not the point. It is better to fail doing your duty than to succeed NOT doing your duty. Peace of mind is understanding you are acting in accordance with the divine system. This is why there is such an emphasis on intellectual as opposed to emotional or sensual understanding. Our senses and emotions want pleasure and physical and emotional satisfaction, but Krishna wants Arjuna to follow the divine system that can only be understood intellectually, not though the senses and emotion. Thus Justice is following your dharma, which often may seem to require immoral acts. Thus Arjuna will be forced to kills family members, just as in the US Civil War soldiers sometimes had to fight relatives they loved who were on the other side.

VP (variable passage ) 1. This statement by Ajax suggests that in Homer justice corresponds to a procedure where just about any offence can be compensated for (even murder) by cash. This is not too far from what we see in modern law, where civil penalties (let us say for an accident) can be reduced to a cash payment. Can all offences be reduced to a matter of negotiation?

VP 2 Zeus gives detailed knowledge of what is to come. How can there be justice when what we do is already foretold and planned out. Or is it not planned, but Zeus’ super knowledge can see what we will do – but not necessarily cause us to do it.

VP 3 This is the famous passage about how all mortals get good and evil, but some get little good. The point is that it seems that it is Zeus’ arbitrary decision as to who is lucky or not. Again, is the universe, as ruled by Zeus, just?

VP4 Here Zeus is complaining to the other Gods that humans blame their misfortunes on the gods, when in fact they often cause their own problems. But then Athena asks Zeus why Odysseus is being abused unjustly? The reason is that Poseidon is angry at him, and Zeus does not want to confront him directly. Note that it is Orestes, Agamemnon’s son, who gets justice for the murder of his father Agamemnon, and it is Poseidon who is angry because Odysseus hurt his son. So there are two ideas here – one, sometimes humans do work out justice and cause their own punishment, but, on the other hand, the gods do what they please, even if other gods think of it as unjust!

VP5 In this passage near the end of the epic, Aeneas was wounded during a duel like Menelaus was in the Iliad. However, he is cured by a herb provided to the doctor by his mother Venus. The most famous phrase is what Aeneas says to his son, “‘My son, learn courage from me and true labour: good fortune from others.’ In other words, to active justice, Aeneas needed to be willing to sacrifice happiness, as did Hector. Does justice require us to sacrifice happiness?

VP6 In this passage we learn how Eumaeus, Odysseus’ slave, became a slave. The question – what justice is there in slavery? Note that Eumaeus was a king’s son, and became a slave due to a crime. And in the epic he, although a slave, is more noble than the noble suitors. Does this point out that often our social position (or lack of it) is more a result of chance than being our own fault? What does this signify about justice?

VP7 In this passage Hekabe first suggests that for a politician ‘justice’ may be doing whatever is popular politically. Is justice whatever the crowd think it is? Hekabe tells Odysseus he owes her a favor and to be afraid of the anger of the gods. Odysseus says it is justice to honor Great Heroes, because such honor makes people want to become heroes too. This is how the Greek prosper. But do you think here Odysseus really wants justice, or is using this argument to rationalize as just an act of bloody revenge against the family of Priam?

VP8 In this passage Andromache is trying to talk Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus and wife of Neoptolemus, out of killing the child she has had (unwillingly) by Neoptolemus. Andromache first worries that her arguments about justice will be rejected since she is a slave. Hermione is blaming Andromache for her bad marriage, but Andromache replies that it may have something to do with Hermione constantly acting as if she were better than her husband. Andromache points out that wives have simply to put up with their husband’s extramarital affairs – Hector too had children with concubines and slave women, and she took care of them. Does doing justice require women to realize that their husbands have the right to act unjustly, and they just have to accept this injustice?

Mandatory Passages

Mandatory passage 1. The Encomium of Helen by Gorgias of Leontini Here a famous sophist, and philosopher uses fancy reasoning and rhetoric to justify Helen of Troy.

(1) The order proper to a city is being well-manned; to a body, beauty; to a soul, wisdom; to a deed, excellence; and to a discourse, truth--and the opposites of these are disorder. And the praiseworthy man and woman and discourse and work and city-state and deed one must honor with praise, while one must assign blame to the unworthy--for it is equal error and ignorance to blame the praiseworthy and to praise the blameworthy.

(2) It being required of the same man both to speak straight and to refute [crooked speech, one should refute] those blaming Helen, a woman concerning whom the testimony of those who are called poets has become univocal and unanimous--likewise the repute of her name, which has become a byword for calamities. And by bestowing some rationality on the discourse, I myself wish to absolve this ill-reputed woman from responsibility, and to show that those who blame her are lying--and, having shown the truth, to put an end to ignorance.

(3) It is not unclear, not even to a few, that the woman who is the subject of this discourse was the foremost of the foremost men and women, by nature and by birth. For it is clear that her mother was Leda and her father was in fact the god, but said to be mortal, Tyndareus and Zeus--of whom the one, by being, seemed, while the other, by speech, was disproved--and the one was the mightiest of men while the other was tyrant over all.

(4) Born of such parentage, she had godlike beauty, which having received she not inconspicuously retained. She produced the greatest erotic desires in most men. For one body many bodies of men came together, men greatly purposing great things, of whom some possessed great wealth, some the glory of ancient and noble lineage, some the vigor of personal strength, and others the power of acquired cleverness. And they were all there together out of contentious love and unconquerable ambition.

(5) Who it was, then, who fulfilled the love by gaining Helen, and the means and manner of it, I shall not say; for to tell knowing people things they know supplies corroboration but does not convey enjoyment. Having now finished the first section, I shall advance to the beginning of the next section, and I shall set out the causes through which Helen's journey to Troy was likely to come about.

(6) Either by the wishes of Fortune and plans of the gods and decrees of Necessity she did what she did, or abducted by force, or persuaded by speeches, <or conquered by Love>. Now in the first case, the responsible party deserves the responsibility. For the will of a god cannot be hindered by human forethought. For it is not natural for the superior to be hindered by the inferior, but for the inferior to be ruled and led by the superior--for the superior to lead and the inferior to follow. And a god is superior to a human being in force, intelligence, etcetera. Accordingly, if one must attribute responsibility to Fortune and the god, one must acquit Helen of infamy.

(7) But if she was abducted by force, unlawfully constrained and unjustly victimized, it is clear on the one hand that the abductor, as victimizer, committed injustice--and on the other hand that the abductee, as victim, met with mishap. Accordingly the barbarian assailant Paris deserves to meet with barbarous assault, by speech and custom and deed--deserves to be blamed in speech, dishonored by custom, and penalized indeed. She who was forced and bereft of fatherland and orphaned of friends--how is she not to be pitied rather than reviled? For he did terrible things; she was the victim; it is accordingly fair to pity her and hate him.

(8) And if persuasive discourse deceived Helen’s soul, it is not on that account difficult to defend her and absolve her of responsibility, thus: discourse is a great potentate, which by the smallest and most secret body accomplishes the most divine works; for it can stop fear and assuage pain and produce joy and make mercy abound. And I shall show that these things are so:

(9 -10) By means of words, inspired incantations serve as bringers-on of pleasure and takers-off of pain. For the incantation's power, communicating with the soul's opinion, enchants and persuades and changes it, by trickery. Two distinct methods of trickery and magic are to be found: errors of soul, and deceptions of opinion.

(11) Those who have persuaded and do persuade anyone about anything are shapers of lying discourse. For if all people possessed memory concerning all things past, and awareness of all things present, and foreknowledge of all things to come, discourse would not be similarly similar; hence it is not now easy to remember the past or consider the present or foretell the future; so that most people on most subjects furnish themselves with opinion as advisor to the soul. But opinion, being slippery and unsteady, surrounds those who rely on it with slippery and unsteady successes.

(12) For discourse was the persuader of the soul, which it persuaded and compelled to believe the things that were said and to agree to the things that were done. He who persuaded (as constrainer) did wrong; while she (Helen) who was persuaded (as one constrained by means of the discourse) is wrongly blamed.

(13) Persuasion belonging to discourse shapes the soul at will: witness, first, the discourses of the astronomers, who by setting aside one opinion and building up another in its stead make incredible and obscure things apparent to the eyes of opinion; second, the necessary debates in which one discourse, artfully written but not truthfully meant, delights and persuades a numerous crowd; and third, the competing arguments of the philosophers, in which speed of thought is shown off, as it renders changeable the credibility of an opinion.

(14) The power of discourse stands in the same relation to the soul's organization as the pharmacopoeia does to the physiology of bodies. For just as different drugs draw off different humors from the body, and some put an end to disease and others to life, so too of discourses: some give pain, others delight, others terrify, others rouse the hearers to courage, and yet others by a certain vile persuasion drug and trick the soul.

(15) It has been said that if Helen was persuaded by discourse, she did no wrong but rather was unfortunate; I proceed to the fourth cause in a fourth section. If it was love that brought all these things to pass, Helen escapes without difficulty from the blame for the sin alleged to have taken place. For the things we see do not have whatever nature we will, but rather that which befalls each. The soul receives an impression in its own ways through the sight.

(16) For example, whenever hostile bodies put on their bronze and iron war-gear of ward and defense against enemies, if the visual sense beholds this, it is troubled and it troubles the soul, so that often panic-stricken men flee future danger <as if it were> present. For the strong habitual force of law is banished because of the fear prompted by the sight, which makes one heedless both of what is judged by custom to be admirable, and of the good that comes about by victory.

(18) But truly whenever the painters perfectly complete one body and figure from many colors and bodies, they delight the sight; and the making of statues and production of figurines furnishes a pleasant sight to the eyes. Thus it is in the nature of the visual sense to long for some things and for other things to give it pain. And in many there is produced much love and desire for many things and bodies.

(19) Accordingly, if Helen's eye, taking pleasure in Paris’ body, transmitted to her soul the eagerness and struggle of Love, is it any wonder? If Love, <being> a god, <has> the divine power of gods, how could the weaker being have the power to reject this and to ward it off? But if it is a human disease and an error of the soul, it ought not to be blamed as a sin but ought rather to be accounted a misfortune. For she went, as she started out, in the clutches of fortune, not by plans of the mind; and by the constraints of love, not the preparations of art.

(20) How then is it necessary to regard as just the blame of Helen, who either passionately in love or persuaded by discourse or abducted by force or constrained by divine constraints did the things she did, escaping responsibility every way?

(21) By this discourse I have removed infamy from a woman; I have continued in the mode I established at the beginning. I tried to put an end to the injustice of blame and ignorance of opinion; I wanted to write the discourse, Helen's encomium and my plaything.

Mandatory passage 2. From Hesiod’s Works and Days. Hesiod is telling his brother Perses (who had cheated him) why he must follow Justice. Hesiod lived around the time of Homer.

You, Perses, must listen to dike (= justice) and you must not make hubris (lawless arrogance) thrive. For hubris is bad for the wretched mortal. A noble man cannot easily bear the burden, and he is weighed down under it [hubris], incurring Atai (delusion). It is better to go the other way towards the things of dikē. The dikē comes out prevailing over hubris in the end. The inept person learns only by going through the experience. Horkos [‘Oath’ personified] runs in pursuit, catching up with crooked dikai, and there is a clamor as Dikē is dragged off by men who take her wherever they want, devourers of gifts, as they sort out, with crooked dikai, what is or is not themis (= lawful). Weeping, she [Dikē = Justice] pursues the city and the haunts of its inhabitants. Invisible, she brings evil upon men who exile her and apportion her so as to make her crooked.As for those who render straight dikai (justice) for xenoi ( = guest friends) and for local people alike, and who do not veer away from what is dikaion (= the Just),for them, their city flourishes, and the inhabitants blossom. Peace, the nurturer of young men, ranges about the land, and never do they have wretched war manifested for them by Zeus who sees far and wide. Men who have straight dikē are never visited by Hunger or by atē (= Delusion) . Instead, at feasts, they reap the rewards of the works that they industriously cared about. For them the earth bears much life-sustenance. On the mountains, the oak tree bears acorns at the top and bees in the middle. Their wooly sheep are laden with fleeces. Their wives bear children resembling their fathers.They flourish with all good things, without fail. And they do not have to find their way home on ships, but the grain-giving land bears fruit. But those who have evil hubris and wanton deeds on their minds for them the son of Kronos, wide-seeing Zeus, marks out dike that is, punishment. . Many times it happens that an entire polis ( = city) suffers the consequences on account of just one evil man’s actions, one who transgresses and plans reckless deeds. For these men the son of Kronos brings down from the skies a great disaster, famine along with pestilence. And the people waste away.Their women do not give birth, and their households are depleted— all on account of the plans of Zeus the Olympian. There will be a time when Zeus will destroy their vast host of fighting men. Or he can exact retribution against them by destroying their city-wallsor their ships sailing over the sea. You kings! Mark well, all of you, this dikē. For nearby and present among humankind are the immortals, and they take note of those who, with crooked dikai, oppress each other, not caring about the retribution of the gods. They are countless—no, more, they are three times countless—ranging all over the earth, nurturer of many. They are the immortal ones, coming from Zeus, guardians of mortal men, who watch over the dikai and guard against reckless deeds. They are invisible, ranging everywhere over the land.Then there is the virgin Dikē, born of Zeus. she has great esteem and aidōs ( = Honor) among the gods who abide in Olympus. Whenever someone does her harm, using crooked words,right away she takes her place at the side of Zeus son of Kronos, and she proclaims the noos ( = mind) of men that is without dikē, with the result that the people have to pay retributionfor the deeds of recklessness committed by their kings. These kings, having baneful thoughts in their noos ( = minds) , pronounce dikai in a crooked way, making them veer and go astray.

Mandatory passage 3 Genesis 18.16 Genesis is something of the historical epic of the Hebrew people. Here Abraham bargains with God about the fate of the city of Sodom, which is known for its hostility to strangers. Notice how this story contrasts with Hesiod. God eventually destroys Sodom, for there are not even ten good people in it.

Then the men (really angels) set out from there, and they looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to set them on their way.

[17] The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, [18] seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by him?[19] No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice; so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him."[20] Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomor'rah is great and their sin is very grave,

[21] I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to me; and if not, I will know."[22]So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom; but Abraham still stood before the LORD. [23] Then Abraham drew near, and said, "Wilt thou indeed destroy the righteous with the wicked?[24] Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt thou then destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?[25] Far be it from thee to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from thee! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"[26] And the LORD said, "If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake."[27] Abraham answered, "Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.[28] Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Wilt thou destroy the whole city for lack of five?" And he said, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there."[29] Again he spoke to him, and said, "Suppose forty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it."[30] Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there." He answered, "I will not do it, if I find thirty there."[31] He said, "Behold, I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there." He answered, "For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it."

[32] Then he said, "Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there." He answered, "For the sake of ten I will not destroy it."

[33] And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

Mandatory passage 4 From book 6 of Vergil’s Aeneid. Aeneas visits the underworld and sees his father and learns about reincarnation and the future of Rome.

And now Aeneas saw a secluded grove

in a receding valley, with rustling woodland thickets,

and the river of Lethe gliding past those peaceful places.

Innumerable tribes and peoples hovered round it:

just as, in the meadows, on a cloudless summer’s day,

the bees settle on the multifarious flowers, and stream

round the bright lilies, and all the fields hum with their buzzing.

Aeneas was thrilled by the sudden sight, and, in ignorance,

asked the cause: what the river is in the distance,

who the men are crowding the banks in such numbers.

Then his father Anchises answered: ‘They are spirits,

owed a second body by destiny, and they drink

the happy waters, and a last forgetting, at Lethe’s stream.

Indeed, for a long time I’ve wished to tell you of them,

and show you them face to face, to enumerate my children’s

descendants, so you might joy with me more at finding Italy.’

‘O father, is it to be thought that any spirits go from here

to the sky above, returning again to dull matter?’

‘Indeed I’ll tell you, son, not keep you in doubt,’

Anchises answered, and revealed each thing in order.

‘Firstly, a spirit within them nourishes the sky and earth,

the watery plains, the shining orb of the moon,

and Titan’s star, and Mind, flowing through matter,

vivifies the whole mass, and mingles with its vast frame.

From it come the species of man and beast, and winged lives,

and the monsters the sea contains beneath its marbled waves.

The power of those seeds is fiery, and their origin divine,

so long as harmful matter doesn’t impede them

and terrestrial bodies and mortal limbs don’t dull them.

Through those they fear and desire, and grieve and joy,

and enclosed in night and a dark dungeon, can’t see the light.

Why, when life leaves them at the final hour,

still all of the evil, all the plagues of the flesh, alas,

have not completely vanished, and many things, long hardened

deep within, must of necessity be ingrained, in strange ways.

So they are scourged by torments, and pay the price

for former sins: some are hung, stretched out,

to the hollow winds, the taint of wickedness is cleansed

for others in vast gulfs, or burned away with fire:

each spirit suffers its own: then we are sent

through wide Elysium, and we few stay in the joyous fields,

for a length of days, till the cycle of time,

complete, removes the hardened stain, and leaves

pure ethereal thought, and the brightness of natural air.

All these others the god calls in a great crowd to the river Lethe,

after they have turned the wheel for a thousand years,

so that, truly forgetting, they can revisit the vault above,

and begin with a desire to return to the flesh.’

Anchises had spoken, and he drew the Sibyl and his son, both

together, into the middle of the gathering and the murmuring crowd,

and chose a hill from which he could see all the long ranks

opposite, and watch their faces as they came by him.

‘Come, I will now explain what glory will pursue the children

of Dardanus, what descendants await you of the Italian race,

illustrious spirits to march onwards in our name, and I will teach

you your destiny. See that boy, who leans on a headless spear,

he is fated to hold a place nearest the light, first to rise

to the upper air, sharing Italian blood, Silvius, of Alban name,

your last-born son, who your wife Lavinia, late in your old age,

will give birth to in the wood, a king and the father of kings,

through whom our race will rule in Alba Longa.

Next to him is Procas, glory of the Trojan people,

and Capys and Numitor, and he who’ll revive your name,

Silvius Aeneas, outstanding like you in virtue and arms,

if he might at last achieve the Alban throne.

What men! See what authority they display,

their foreheads shaded by the civic oak-leaf crown!

They will build Nomentum, Gabii, and Fidenae’s city:

Collatia’s fortress in the hills, Pometii

and the Fort of Inus, and Bola, and Cora.

Those will be names that are now nameless land.

Mandatory Passage 5 From the Bhagavad Gita, the great epic poem of India. It describes the vast battle between two related families. In the passage the hero, Arjuna, seeing that he will have to kill a lot of his close relatives, wants to drop out of the war. The God Krisha, who is his chariot driver, explains to him how he is just in what he does in terms of the doctrines of reincarnation.

Seeing Arjuna overwhelmed with pity, his mind grief-stricken, and his eyes full of tears, Lord Krishna spoke the following words.: My dear Arjuna, how has this delusion overcome you in this hour of peril? It is not befitting an honorable person. It leads not to the higher abodes, but to disgrace. O Arjuna, it does not befit you to yield to this unmanliness. Give up such petty weakness of heart and arise, O vanquisher of enemies.

Arjuna said: O Krishna, how can I shoot arrows in battle on men like Bheeshma and Dronacharya, who are worthy of my worship, O destroyer of enemies? It would be better to live in this world by begging, than to enjoy life by killing these noble elders, who are my teachers. If we kill them, the wealth and pleasures we enjoy will be tainted with blood. do not even know which result of this war is preferable for us—conquering them or being conquered by them. Even after killing them we will not desire to live. Yet they have taken the side of noble Dhritarasthra, and now stand before us on the battlefield. I am confused about my duty, and am besieged with anxiety and faintheartedness. I am your disciple, and am surrendered to you. Please instruct me for certain what is best for me.I can find no means of driving away this anguish that is drying up my senses. Even if I win a prosperous and unrivalled kingdom on the earth, or gain sovereignty like the celestial gods, I will be unable to dispel this grief.

Thereafter, in the midst of both the armies, Lord Krishna smilingly spoke the following words to the grief-stricken Arjuna.: While you speak words of wisdom, you are mourning for that which is not worthy of grief. The wise lament neither for the living nor for the dead.

Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be. Just as the embodied soul continuously passes from childhood to youth to old age, similarly, at the time of death, the soul passes into another body. The wise are not deluded by this.O son of Kunti, Arjuna the contact between the senses and the sense objects gives rise to fleeting perceptions of happiness and distress. These are non-permanent, and come and go like the winter and summer seasons. O descendent of Bharat, Arjuna one must learn to tolerate them without being disturbed.O Arjuna, noblest amongst men, that person who is not affected by happiness and distress, and remains steady in both, becomes eligible for liberation.

Of the transient there is no endurance, and of the eternal there is no cessation. This has verily been observed by the seers of the truth, after studying the nature of both.That which pervades the entire body, know it to be indestructible. No one can cause the destruction of the imperishable soul.Only the material body is perishable; the embodied soul within is indestructible, immeasurable, and eternal. Therefore, fight, O descendent of Bharat.

Neither of them is in knowledge—the one who thinks the soul can slay and the one who thinks the soul can be slain. For truly, the soul neither kills nor can it be killed.The soul is neither born, nor does it ever die; nor having once existed, does it ever cease to be. The soul is without birth, eternal, immortal, and ageless. It is not destroyed when the body is destroyed.

O Arjuna how can one who knows the soul to be imperishable, eternal, unborn, and immutable kill anyone or cause anyone to kill? As a person sheds worn-out garments and wears new ones, likewise, at the time of death, the soul casts off its worn-out body and enters a new one. Weapons cannot shred the soul, nor can fire burn it. Water cannot wet it, nor can the wind dry it. The soul is unbreakable and incombustible; it can neither be dampened nor dried. It is everlasting, in all places, unalterable, immutable, and primordial.The soul is spoken of as invisible, inconceivable, and unchangeable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.

If, however, you think that the self is subject to constant birth and death, O mighty-armed Arjun, even then you should not grieve like this. Death is certain for one who has been born, and rebirth is inevitable for one who has died. Therefore, you should not lament over the inevitable.O scion of Bharat, Arjuna, , all created beings are unmanifest before birth, manifest in life, and again unmanifest on death. So why grieve? Some see the soul as amazing, some describe it as amazing, and some hear of the soul as amazing, while others, even on hearing, cannot understand it at all.O Arjun, the soul that dwells within the body is immortal; therefore, you should not mourn for anyone.

Besides, considering your duty as a warrior, you should not waver. Indeed, for a warrior, there is no better engagement than fighting for upholding of righteousness. O Arjuna, happy are the warriors to whom such opportunities to defend righteousness come unsought, opening for them the stairway to the celestial abodes. If, however, you refuse to fight this righteous war, abandoning your social duty and reputation, you will certainly incur sin. People will speak of you as a coward and a deserter. For a respectable person, infamy is worse than death. The great generals who hold you in high esteem will think that you fled from the battlefield out of fear, and thus will lose their respect for you. Your enemies will defame and humiliate you with unkind words, disparaging your might. Alas, what could be more painful than that?If you fight, you will either be slain on the battlefield and go to the celestial abodes, or you will gain victory and enjoy the kingdom on earth. Therefore arise with determination, O son of Kunti, and be prepared to fight. Fight for the sake of duty, treating alike happiness and distress, loss and gain, victory and defeat. Fulfilling your responsibility in this way, you will never incur sin. Hitherto, I have explained to you the Sānkhya Yog, or analytic knowledge regarding the nature of the soul. Now listen, O Parth Arjuna, as I reveal Buddhi Yog (= knowledge, Wisdom), or the Yog of Intellect. When you work with such understanding, you will be freed from the bondage of karma.Working in this state of consciousness, there is no loss or adverse result, and even a little effort saves one from great danger. O descendent of the Kurus, the intellect of those who are on this path is resolute, and their aim is one-pointed. But the intellect of those who are irresolute is many-branched.. With their minds deeply attached to worldly pleasures and their intellects bewildered by such things, they are unable to possess the resolute determination for success on the path to God. The Vedas (Scriptures) deal with the three modes of material nature, O Arjuna. Rise above the three modes to a state of pure spiritual consciousness. Freeing yourself from dualities, eternally fixed in truth, and without concern for material gain and safety, be situated in the true self. Whatever purpose is served by a small well of water is naturally served in all respects by a large lake. Similarly, one who realizes the Absolute Truth also fulfills the purpose of all the Vedas.(Holy Scriptures)You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction. Be steadfast in the performance of your duty, O Arjuna, abandoning attachment to success and failure. Such equanimity is called Yoga (knowledge, Wisdom). Seek refuge in divine knowledge and insight, O Arjuna, and discard reward-seeking actions that are certainly inferior to works performed with the intellect established in Divine knowledge. Miserly are those who seek to enjoy the fruits of their works. One who prudently practices the science of work without attachment can get rid of both good and bad reactions in this life itself. Therefore, strive for Yog (Wisdom, Knowledge), which is the art of working skillfully (in proper consciousness).

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Secret quotation

Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun (Chinese: 枪杆子里面出政权)

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Variable passage 1 . Book 9 Ajax, godlike son of Telamon, then spoke: ‘Odysseus of many wiles, Zeus-born son of Laertes, we should go, since we achieve nothing by staying here. We must hasten to give the news to the Greeks, who no doubt await us, bad though it is. Achilles’ proud heart has raised him to such a pitch of fury he forgets, harsh man that he is, his comrades’ love, with which we in the fleet honoured him above all others. He shows no pity! Yet a man accepts blood-money even from his brother’s or his son’s killer, and the killer is not expelled from the land if he pays the price to the next of kin, whose pride and feelings are appeased by such compensation. Achilles, the gods have hardened and poisoned your heart, all because of a girl, while we offer you seven, the best there are by far, and a host of gifts besides. So be gracious and show respect for your house, since we represent the Danaans here, and are keen to remain your closest and dearest friends of all the Achaeans.’

Variable passage 2 Iliad 15 Zeus says ‘Hera, if what you say is truly and sincerely said, go to the immortal gods and summon Iris, and Apollo the Archer. She must visit the army of bronze-clad Greeks, and tell Poseidon to leave the field and go home. Meanwhile Phoebus Apollo must breathe new strength into Hector, make him forget his heart-troubling pain, rouse him to fight, and drive the Achaeans back once more. Once he has them panicking like cowards, they will run and die beside the benched ships of Achilles, son of Peleus. He will send out his friend Patroclus, who will slay many a fine young man, among them noble Sarpedon my son, but great Hector will kill him in turn with his spear, under the walls of Troy. Then in revenge for Patroclus, noble Achilles will kill Hector. Thereafter I shall let the Trojans be driven steadily from the ships, remorselessly, until the Greeks, advised by Athene, take Troy. But my wrath will be unabated till then, and no other immortal shall help the Greeks, till Achilles’ wishes are fulfilled, in accord with the promise I made with a nod of my head, that day that divine Thetis clasped my knees, and begged me to honour her son, Achilles, sacker of cities.’

Variable passage 3 Iliad Book 24 But when Achilles was sated with weeping, and the force of grief was spent, he rose instantly from his chair, and raising the old king by his arm, he took pity on his grey beard and hair, and spoke eloquently to him: ‘You are indeed unfortunate, and your heart has endured much sorrow. Surely, though, there is iron in your spirit, daring to come alone to our ships, and face the man who slew so many of your noble sons? Come, sit here, and we will shut away our sorrows, despite our grief, since there is but cold comfort in lament. The gods have spun the thread of fate for wretched mortals: we live in sorrow, while they are free from care. Two urns stand in Zeus’ palace containing the experiences he grants mortals, one holds blessings, the other ills. Those who receive a mixture of the two meet with good and ill, but those whom the Thunderer only serves from the jar of ills becomes an outcast, driven over the face of the earth by despair, a wanderer honoured neither by gods nor men. See how the gods showered glorious gifts on my father Peleus, from the moment of his birth, wealth and possessions beyond other men, kingship of the Myrmidons, and though but a mortal man, a goddess for a wife. Yet some god brought evil even to him, no crowd of princes, but an only son doomed to an untimely end. He receives no care from me, since I sit here in theland of Troy, far from my own country, bringing harm to you and your children. And you, my aged lord, they say you once were happy, renowned for your wealth and your sons, in all the lands, from the isle of Lesbos, where Macar reigned, through upper Phrygia to the boundless Hellespont. But from the moment that the heavenly gods brought this wretched war upon you, all has turned to battle and slaughter. Endure, let your heart not grieve forever, Sorrowing for your son will achieve nothing, you’ll not bring him back to life, though life will bring you other sorrows.’

Variable passage 4 . Odyssey book 1 Now, though, Poseidon was visiting the distant Ethiopians, the most remote of all, a divided people, some of whom live where Hyperion sets the others where he rises, to accept a hetacomb of sacrificial bulls and rams, and there he sat, enjoying the feast: but the rest of the gods had gathered in the halls of Olympian Zeus. The Father of gods and men was first to address them, for he was thinking of flawless Aegisthus, whom far-famed Orestes, Agamemnon’s son had killed. And, thinking of him, Zeus spoke to the immortals.‘How surprising that men blame the gods, and say their troubles come from us, though they, through their own un-wisdom, find suffering beyond what is fated. Just as Aegisthus, beyond what was fated, took the wife of Agamemnon, son of Atreus, and murdered him when he returned, though he knew the end would be a complete disaster, since we sent Hermes, keen-eyed slayer of Argus, to warn him not to kill the man, or court his wife, as Orestes would avenge Agamemnon, once he reached manhood and longed for his own land. So Hermes told him, but despite his kind intent he could not move Aegisthus’ heart: and Aegisthus has paid the price now for it all.’ Athene, the bright-eyed goddess, answered him at once: ‘Father of us all, Son of Cronos, Highest King, clearly that man deserved to be destroyed: so let all be destroyed who act as he did. But my heart aches for Odysseus, wise but ill fated, who suffers far from his friends on an island deep in the sea. The island is densely wooded and a goddess lives there, a child of malevolent Atlas, he who knows the depths of the sea, and supports the great columns that separate earth and sky. It is his daughter who detains that unlucky, sorrowful man: she lulls him, always, with soft seductive words, intending him to forget Ithaca. But Odysseus, who yearns for the mere sight of the smoke rising from his own country, only longs to die. Yet, Olympian, your heart is unmoved. Did he win no favour with the sacrifices he made you, by the Argive ships, on the wide plains of Troy? Why do you will this man such pain, Zeus?’

Variable passage 5 . Book 12 Aeneid. Aeneas has been wounded, but he is healed by a magic herb, and goes off to final battle with Turnus.

At this Aeneas’s mother, Venus, shaken by her son’s

cruel pain, culled a dittany plant from Cretan Ida,

with downy leaves and purple flowers: a herb

not unknown to the wild goats when winged

arrows have fixed themselves in their sides.

This Venus brought, her face veiled in dark mist,

this, with its hidden curative powers, she steeped

in river water, poured into a glittering basin, and sprinkled

there healing ambrosial juice and fragrant panacea.

Aged Iapyx (the doctor, a son of Apollo) bathed the wound with this liquid,

not knowing its effect, and indeed all pain fled

from Aeneas’s body, all the flow of blood ceased deep

in the wound. Now, without force, the arrowhead

slipped from the wound, following the motion of his hand,

and fresh strength returned to Aeneas, such as before.

Iapyx cried: ‘Quickly, bring our hero weapons. Why are you

standing there?’ and was first to excite their courage against

the enemy. ‘Aeneas, this cure does not come by human aid,

nor guiding art, it is not my hand that saved you: a god,

a greater one, worked this, and sends you out again to glorious deeds.’

Aeneas, eager for battle, had sheathed his legs in gold,

left and right, and scornful of delay, brandished his spear.

As soon as his shield was fixed at his side, the chain mail

to his back, he clasped Ascanius in his armed embrace,

and, kissing his lips lightly through the helmet, said:

‘My son, learn courage from me and true labour:

good fortune from others. Now my hand will protect you

in war, and lead you to great rewards. Make sure later,

when your years have reached maturity, that you remember:

let your father Aeneas, and your uncle Hector

inspire your soul, by recalling their example.’

Variable passage 6 .Odyssey 15 How Eumaeus became a slave. He is telling his story. ‘There’s an island called Syrie, you may have heard of, beyond Ortygia, where the sun turns in its course. It is sparsely populated, yet a fine land, rich in flocks and herds, yielding plenty of wine and wheat. Famine is unknown there, and the people are free of the dreadful sicknesses that plague wretched mortals. As the generations of men grow old, Apollo of the Silver Bow visits their cities, with Artemis beside him, and strikes and slays them with gentle arrows. There are two cities, dividing the island between them, and my father, Ctesius, son of Ormenus, a godlike man, was king of both.

Sea-faring Phoenicians came to trade there, greedy rogues bringing a cargo of trinkets in their black ship. A Phoenician woman lived in my father’s house, tall and handsome and skilled in fine handiwork. The cunning Phoenicians seduced her. One lay with her by the hollow ship where she was washing clothes: such love beguiles the minds even of virtuous women. He asked who she was and where she came from, and she pointed to my father’s high-roofed house, saying: “I am from Sidon, rich in bronze, the daughter of wealthy Arybas. But Taphian raiders caught me as I came from the fields, brought me here and sold me into that man’s household, he paying a fine price.”The man who had lain with her secretly said: “Do you wish to go home with us, and see your parents and their high-roofed house again? They are still living, truly, and counted among the wealthy.”“I might,” the woman said, “if you sailors would swear on oath to take me home in safety.” They all pledged to do as she asked, and when they had sworn their oath, the woman cautioned them: “Don’t any of you speak to me if you meet me at the well or in the street. Be silent, lest someone go the palace and tell the old king. If he suspects he will bind me tight and plan your deaths. Keep my words in mind, instead, and go off and barter your goods. Then, when your ship’s cargo is loaded, send a message quickly to me at the palace, and I will bring whatever gold is to hand. And I’ll gladly add something else to pay for my passage. I am nurse to a child of my master’s there in the house, a clever child who accompanies me everywhere. I’ll bring him on board, and he’ll fetch a great price in any foreign city where you land.” With these words she returned to the palace.

They stayed in the country a whole year, and acquired a ship’s full of cargo in trade. When the hollow ship was loaded, ready for sailing, they sent a messenger to the woman to tell her the news. The man was an expert in deceit, and he came to my father’s house bringing a necklace strung with gold and amber beads. While my dear mother and her maids examined and handled it, haggling over the price, he nodded silently to the woman. After his signal to her, he slipped away to the hollow ship, while she took me by the hand and led me from the house. In the portico she came across tables and drinking cups set out for those who attended on my father. They had gone to the council meeting in the debating hall, so she hid three of the goblets among her clothes, and took them with her, and I followed in all innocence.The sun dipped and the streets grew dark. We hurried down to the fine harbour, where the Phoenicians’ swift vessel waited. They embarked, taking us on board as well, and sailed away over the sea, on a favourable wind from Zeus. Six days and nights we journeyed on, but when Zeus the son of Cronos brought the seventh day, Artemis the Archeress struck the woman who fell with a thud like a sea-bird into the hold. They tossed her overboard to feed the seals and fishes, and I was left heart-sick and alone. Then the wind and waves carried them here to Ithaca, where Laertes’ wealth purchased me. That’s how I came to set eyes on this land.’ Odysseus, scion of Zeus, said then: ‘Eumaeus, you have stirred my heart deeply with all this sad tale of trouble. Yet in your case, surely, Zeus has dealt you good with evil, since you reached the house of a generous man after all your suffering, who is kind enough to provide you with food and drink, so that you live well, while I have wandered through all the cities of men to reach this place.’

Variable passage 7 . Euripides;’ Hekabe, the Debate between Hekabe, who helped Odysseus, and Odysseus, who here is justifying his plan to sacrifice Polyxena to the ghost of Achilles.

Hekabe But you, Odysseus say you’ve received all this kindness from me and yet, instead of repaying me with equal kindness, you are resolved to do such awful harm to me.Ah! All of you lot who are jealous of the honours received by political leaders are an ungrateful bunch. I wish I had never known any of you. You don’t care how much you hurt your friends so long as you say something to pacify the masses. What a flash of wisdom the soldiers must have thought they had, to vote for this girl’s death sentence! What Force has made them want to sacrifice a human on a tomb, a place where a bull is the proper offering? And if Achilles seeks justice for his own death by murdering others, why should it be this girl here? What wrong has she done to him? Instead, it is Helen’s sacrifice he should be seeking, for it was she who had brought him to Troy and caused his death. And if his wish was to have the fairest of women sacrificed upon his tomb, then this honour too, belongs to Helen, Tyndareus’ daughter, who is by far the fairest. It does not belong to my daughter. It was Helen who has caused you more harm than we Trojans ever did.

I’ve made this plea in the name of Justice. And now I demand of you to repay the kindness you’ve received from me. You have said yourself that you have kneeled before me and clutched my hand and touched my aged cheeks, in supplication. Look here! I kneel before you now in the same way and beg you for recompense of the favour I showed you back then. Do not tear Polyxene from my arms! Do not kill her! There have been enough killings already. I find enormous joy in her and with her I forget my misfortune. She is the only solace for my many pains: she is my country, my nurse, my support, the guide of my steps. Odysseus, hear me! Those who are able to exercise power should not exercise it wrongfully and those who are fortunate should not believe that fortune will stay with them for ever. Look at me, Odysseus! Once, I too was someone great but one single day has changed all that. One single day has stripped me of all my happiness.But now, my friend, I touch your beard and beg you to show pity on me. Have pity on me! Go back to the army, go back to the Achaians and counsel them not to kill women –the very women that you had not killed when you were dragging them away from their altars, showing them compassion then. The gods will surely show their anger if you do so now. And remember, too that there is a strong law concerning the shedding of blood. One which applies equally for free men and slaves. Go, Odysseus and speak with them and even if your words are not eloquent, your high position among them will help to convince them. Words are not as effective when spoken by a common man as they are when spoken by someone with a strong reputation.

Chorus Oh, Hekabe! There is no man with heart so cruel that he can hear your groans and pitiful cries and not be moved to tears.

Odysseus, Hekabe, listen to me and learn from my words. Don’t make an enemy in your heart of someone who’s speaking to you wisely. You have done me a good deed and so I speak sincerely when I say that I am happy to save your life. However, I will not take my word back when I supported the wish of the rest of the army, which is to sacrifice your daughter for the honour of the first among the fighters who had conquered Troy. The army demands it. Most nations suffer exactly because of this very same reason, that is they give no more honours to their brave as they do to their less so. For us, dear Lady, Achilles is worthy of great honour. He was a man who fell for the great glory of Greece. It would be a disgrace to neglect him in death when we loved him while he was alive. And then again, let us suppose we do as you say. What would happen if, for some reason, we would need to raise up an army again against another enemy? What would others say? They will ask themselves, “Shall we fight or shall we not? Shall we be cowards and refuse, seeing that we pay no respect to the fallen soldiers?” If it were me, I would not care if, when alive, I lived a poor man’s life but when I die, I would like to see on my tomb evidence of respect and honour. Such a glory measures for much. You say that you’re suffering dreadfully. This is what I say to that: Greece, too, has its share of old men and women who suffer equally. Brides who lost their brave men, men who are now buried beneath Trojan soil. You, too, must, like them, endure it As for us, if our custom of honouring the glorious dead is wrong then we shall suffer the accusation of being ignorant brutes. You barbarians may continue, if you wish, to refuse to regard your friends as friends and refuse also to honour those men who have fallen honourably. Greece will prosper because of this custom, while you will suffer due to your type of thinking!

Variable passage 8. Eurpides Andromache, Andromache’s speech to Hermione (daughter of Helen, married to Neoptolemus) , who wants to kill her son by Neoptolemus.

ANDROMACHE Ah! alas! Youth is a bane to mortals, in every case, that is, where a man embraces injustice in his early days. Now I am afraid that my being a slave will prevent you from listening to me in spite of many a just plea, or if I win my case, I fear I may be damaged on this very ground, for the high and mighty cannot brook refuting arguments from their inferiors; still I will not be convicted of betraying my own cause. Tell me, proud young wife, why should I think I can take your husband away from you? Is it that Laconia's capital yields to Phrygia? is it that my fortune outstrips thine? or that in me you look at a free woman? Am I so elated by my youth, my full healthy figure, the extent of my city, the number of my friends that I wish to supplant thee in thy home? Is my purpose to take thy place and rear myself a race of slaves, mere appendages to my misery? or, supposing thou bear no children, will any one endure that sons of mine should rule over Phthia, your homeland? Ah no! It is not my sorcery that makes your husband hate you nay, but your own failure to prove yourself his good wife. . Herein lies love's only charm; 'tis not beauty, lady, but virtuous acts that win our husbands' hearts. And though it makes you angry to be told so, albeit thy city in Laconia is no doubt mighty, yet you criticize you husband’s native city and set Menelaus above his father Achilles: and that is what alienates your husband. Take heed; for a woman, though bestowed upon worthless husband, must be with him content, and never advance presumptuous claims. Suppose thou had wedded a prince of Thrace, the land of flood and melting snow, where one lord shares his affections with a host of wives, wouldst you have slain them? If so, thou wouldst have set a stigma of insatiate lust on all our sex. A shameful charge! And yet herein we women suffer more than men, though we make a good stand against it. Ah! my dear lord Hector, for thy sake would I even endure a rival, if ever Cypris, goddess of love, led thee astray, and oft in days gone by I held thy bastard babes to my own breast, to spare thee any cause for grief. By this course I bound my husband to me by virtue's chains, whereas thou wilt never so much as let the drops of dew from heaven above settle on your husgand, in thy jealous fear. Oh! seek not to surpass thy mother Helen in hankering after men, for it is well that all wise children should avoid the habits of such evil mothers.

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